Vascular Medicine Conference-CVC 2026

Small vessel disease in diabetes essentially involves chronic high blood sugar inflicting damage on the body’s microvasculature. Over time, these microscopic blood vessels—think capillaries and arterioles—start to malfunction, and it’s not a subtle process. The most notorious complications include diabetic retinopathy (which can mess with your eyesight), nephropathy (your kidneys start dropping the ball), and neuropathy (numbness, tingling, or even pain in the extremities). Symptoms might sneak up as blurred vision, reduced kidney efficiency, and all sorts of odd sensations in your hands and feet.

It's not just blood sugar running amok, either. Poor glycemic control, hypertension, sky-high cholesterol, and smoking all pile on, making the risk of small vessel disease a lot more real. Left unchecked, these issues can trigger a cascade of long-term complications, many of which are irreversible.

Management revolves around the familiar pillars: tight glucose control, blood pressure moderation, cholesterol management, and key lifestyle changes—regular exercise, a balanced diet, and ditching tobacco. Routine screenings are absolutely necessary; catching early signs in the eyes, kidneys, or nerves allows for timely interventions. With vigilant monitoring and sticking to the recommended treatment plan, patients stand a much better shot at minimizing complications and preserving both organ function and overall quality of life.